Foundation grantmaking focuses on four major program areas.
These programs touch upon a number of major issues.
Each grantmaking program also works within clearly stated geographic parameters or regions.

The Socioenvironmental Fund — CASA is a grantmaking and capacity building organization focused on providing small grants to strengthen community, environmental, and civil society organizations. This grant will renew support for the South American Regional Fund to support local communities impacted by large-scale energy and infrastructure projects, which are financed by international and national financial institutions, including the Brazilian Development Bank.

This grant to Instituto Centro de Vida will support the secretariat of the Amazon Regional Network to build understanding and capacity on the impacts of Brazilian Development Bank investments in energy and infrastructure in the Greater Amazon Rainforest, and particularly, to work with and support the network's infrastructure working group. An additional component of the project will work with local communities in the Tapajos and Teles Pires watersheds of the Amazon Rainforest to monitor and seek to mitigate impacts of a large hydroelectric complex planned in this, as yet undeveloped, region of the forest.

National development banks, such as those in Brazil and China, are increasingly dominating development finance in energy and infrastructure in South America. To carry forward lessons learned from work on international financial institutions and build capacity, deeper understanding of standards as well as cooperation between civil society in South America and China are important. This grant increase will support the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analysis to produce and disseminate two reports on Chinese and Brazilian development finance standards, as well as participate in convenings with global and Chinese civil society.

South America

As large-scale infrastructure and energy projects continue to take shape in countries throughout South America, nongovernmental organizations in the region are working to ensure that those who invest in the projects adopt policies that strike a balance between economic growth, environmental preservation, and the well-being of local communities. Through our environmental grantmaking focused on transforming development finance, the Mott Foundation supports work aimed at addressing energy and infrastructure lending practices, as well as safeguard policies that protect local communities, indigenous peoples and natural resources.